Due to the high cost of travel and executive and employee time, many businesses are turning to video/teleconferencing technology to use their human resources more efficiently. Such video/teleconferencing systems must duplicate as closely as possible all of the conditions of a single location business meeting in order to be fully effective as a communications medium.
An important element of a successful video/teleconferencing system is the capability for allowing important documents to be transmitted from one location to another. This capability is essential since distribution and discussion of hard copy information such as financial data, charts, graphs, etc. are a usual part of most business meetings. It is most important that all participants in a video/teleconference be able to view such hard copy information in order to effectively conduct the meeting. Such a graphics system should provide a high degree of legibility, ease of use, and timely delivery or display. Although high resolution video technology has been available, it has not yet been satisfactorily applied in a video conferencing environment for transmission and reproduction of documents between the teleconferencing or video conferencing sites. Moreover, it is important that any such graphics transmission and reproduction system be easy to use in order to avoid the additional cost of highly skilled technicians to operate the system. A truly viable system should be capable of operation by an ordinary business executive without any special training.
Another essential capability of a viable graphics transmission system is the ability to transmit and display or reproduce the graphic material in a sufficiently short time to ensure continuity of communication between the teleconferencing participants. In this regard, transmission and display times of approximately 10 seconds or less are desirable. Finally, as in any system of this type, a high degree of reliability is important. Smooth, long-term operation with minimal down time is essential in order to prevent unncessary interruption of important business meetings.